Jemma was really looking forward to the evening ahead. It was Daisy's birthday party and she'd rented a hall out for the night as she did every year. Jemma always had fun at one of Daisy's parties.

Also sticking to tradition, Daisy would only let you in if you were in fancy dress, and she always gave the groups of people she knew a different theme they had to dress to via email.

Jemma was also dreading the evening ahead, because of that very email.

'Party Fancy Dress List:

Family – Disney

Friends – Star Wars

Friends from Work – Pride & Prejudice

Kids – Western

Anyone not in fancy dress – YOU'RE NOT COMING IN!'

'Pride and Prejudice'? Really?

It wasn't that she hated the book (it was actually one of her favourites), but finding a decent costume would take time and possibly a lot of money (Jemma wouldn't except anything wildly inaccurate). The other big concern was, of course, Fitz.

Daisy was very specific about what, or rather who, he had to go as.

Fitz was really looking forward to the evening ahead. Despite being an extreme introvert a lot of the time, he always managed to have fun at Daisy's birthday parties. She was surprisingly well organised.

Fitz was also dreading the evening ahead, because Daisy was making her work colleagues dress up as characters from 'Pride and Prejudice'. It's not that he hated the novel (he loved it, in fact), but there were two big problems.

Firstly, Daisy was making him go as Mr Darcy simply because Darcy's first name is Fitzwilliam. That made him uncomfortable.

Secondly, Jemma was going as Elizabeth Bennet and had found a ridiculously gorgeous dress that, like every dress she'd ever worn, made her look angelic. When she first showed it to him he had to cross one leg over the other to hide his Pride and bite his lip to prevent him telling her how much he wants to see her Prejudice.

He sighed as he started putting on his costume, unsure if he would actually be able to keep his hands off her this time.

Jemma was getting nervous as she finished putting on her make-up and styling her hair (it was raised up in a traditional sort of fashion). Anytime now she'd walk out of her room and Fitz, being Fitz, would already be ready to go. Meaning he'd be in his costume. Dressed as the first book character she'd ever had a crush on. The coincidences were starting to get scary now.

Gone were the days when Jemma thought whatever this thing for her best friend is was simply a crush. It had gone on far too long compared to previous crushes to be anything as easy as that. Her feelings were difficult and complicated and she wasn't truly sure what they were herself. She'd always missed him when they were apart for a few days or weeks if one of them was visiting their parents back home, but now she missed him if an hour went by without him. There was an intensity that wasn't there before. She needed him to be close to her like she needed air. She wanted him to be close to her, too.

Preferably without clothes on.

She didn't even want to think about how attracted to him he was. She never thought it possible to find someone so completely, utterly gorgeous, but with Fitz that's the way it was. His eyes, his smile, his face, his body…

She wished time and time again she'd gotten these intense feelings much earlier. Had she have not known him for quite so long when this all happened, she would have taken the chance and told him how she felt, but it's Fitz. It's the man she's known for so many years; they've been through so much together. The one thing holding her back above anything else was the fact that she can remember when they were young.

She remembers knowing him before his voice even broke. She remembers him crushing on other girls, just like he must remember her crushing on other guys. She remembers him telling her about his first kiss about two minutes after it happened and she remembers telling him about hers. All those personal experiences they've shared and can't share for the first time ever again. It almost seems like tainting their friendship and when they were young if anything happened between them now.

He'd be disgusted if he knew I was thinking about him like this.

Jemma sighed.

But I can't help it.

She'd be disgusted if she knew I was thinking about her like this.

Fitz sat in the living room waiting for Jemma to walk out in that bloody dress that made her look bloody gorgeous like she always bloody was.

He'd accepted that this crush of his had escalated a while ago now, but that didn't make it any easier to live with. In fact, it seemed to make things worse. He was pretty sure he was freaking Jemma out too.

The amount of times I've caught her staring at me recently. I must be doing something weird that she picks up on. What if I'm just terrible at hiding this?

Things had gotten so bad that he felt like he was projecting his feelings onto Jemma every once in a while; she'd look at him in a way he would think would hint at attraction if he weren't so clueless about the whole thing.

It was physical and mental torture. Mainly physical. Even saying her name turned him on now. It was beyond control, and he was beyond redemption. He couldn't tell her, but there was no way this was ever going to go away.

He groaned as he put his head in his hands. Jemma opened her door and walked out, not daring to look at Fitz as Mr Darcy until she absolutely had to.

"Ready to go?" She asked, leading Fitz to sit up and look at her.

Fuck me. Seriously, fuck ME.

"You look…good." Fitz said.

"…Thanks." Jemma said, underwhelmed.

I was hoping for at least 'beautiful' or maybe for you to just do me against the wall but beggars can't be choosers.

"I-I mean, yeah. You look very nice." Fitz added.

Jemma smiled. Fitz wanted to jump off the roof of the building.

'Very nice'? You absolute twat.

"You look very nice too." Jemma said softly, only glancing at Fitz briefly and trying not to squeal at the thought of him in that tight white shirt, dripping wet as he emerges from a lake.

You need to stop picturing this before your legs give way, Jemma.

"Thanks." Fitz said.

"Okay, shall we go?" Jemma asked and Fitz nodded.

"Let's do it." Fitz said, wishing he was saying it in a different context.

"Okay." Jemma said softly.

Silence.

"…A-Are you alright, Jemma?" Fitz asked eventually.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I've just, um…I've just had a lot on my mind lately." Jemma replied, not looking Fitz in the eye as she opened the front door to head out.

"You wanna talk about it?" Fitz asked.

"…I think this is just something for me to deal with, Fitz." Jemma forced a smile and walked down the corridor to head for the car.

You wouldn't believe what I'm thinking about lately.

Fitz watched her go, with a look of confusion. He remembered when they were young and they shared every detail with each other.

That was probably the thing holding him back from telling her how he was feeling, if he was honest with himself; all of that history. It wasn't just a girl he'd met in a bar or on the street and wanted to ask on a date, this was Jemma.

She wouldn't believe what I'm thinking about lately.

Fitz lowered his head for a moment, running his fingers through his hair before shutting the front door and following Jemma out. Suddenly, neither of them were in the party mood.